MARCEL BARBEAU

Abstract painter, Marcel Barbeau was part of the Total Refusal (1948), the anti-establishment/religious manifesto of sixteen young Quebecois intellectuals – including leading artists Paul-Émile Borduas and Jean-Paul Riopelle. The manifesto originated from Les Automatistes, the movement that pioneered abstraction in French Canadian art.

Hard-edged, linear forms with great color contrast make each part of Barbeau’s Art Car stand individually as sculptural form. All the parts coexist into a minimalist collage, one that both sustains and abstracts the Porsche 911. In light of Les Automatistes, the car model is effectively reconstructed without having been torn apart.